4 Replies - 2960 Views - Last Post: 26 September 2008 - 10:34 AM

Informational interview for an employment agency.

Posted 19 November 2007 - 06:18 PM

Hi. I recently sought help for IT employment through a local Job Services provider and was asked to interview at least one person who already holds a job in the field I'm seeking an entry level position in. My only problem is I'm new to this area ( Missouri, US ) and don't know but maybe three people, none of which have even the slightest idea about Software Development. I was hoping I get a few answers here, to get an idea of what a job in this field entails.

The questions are:

1) What is the title of your current position?
2) What are the job duties for this position?
3) What do you like about this job?
4) What are the requirements for entry level?
5) Where did you receive training? ( generally speaking ( i.e. University, Technical College, etc ))
6) Is there a demand for this type of work in today's market?
7) Could you tell me the pay salary range for this position? ( I understand if this is asking too much. A rough idea would be appreciated, though. )
8) Is there any extra information you could tell me about this position?
9) Do you have any suggestions/advice for me regarding this type of work?

Thanks beforehand to anyone willing to help. It would mean a great deal to me.

Replies To: Informational interview for an employment agency.

Re: Informational interview for an employment agency.

1) What is the title of your current position?
Applications Developer (also member of "architecture" team)

2) What are the job duties for this position?
Develop, unit test, and debug Java SE and enterprise applications.

3) What do you like about this job?
It pays well and the hours are very flexible (work from home), allowing me to pursue a masters degree. Also I work on a team with some good people.

4) What are the requirements for entry level?
You need to be able to program using Java SE and be able to at least create working JSP pages. This means you must have the ability to write simple apps by yourself with minimal to no help. Basically, if you have to ask for help on anything that could be found in a Beginning Java book (e.g. "Java How To Program" or "Head First Java") then you are sub-entry level.

6) Is there a demand for this type of work in today's market?
Big time! I had to make my resume invisible on m*nster.com because I was getting way too many emails and calls every day.

7) Could you tell me the pay salary range for this position? ( I understand if this is asking too much. A rough idea would be appreciated, though. )
The range is whatever you're willing to be paid. It's also very different from region to region. You should probably do some research. Look on job boards and find salary surveys if you want anything accurate.

8) Is there any extra information you could tell me about this position?
It's not all glamour. You may have to do things that are unpleasant. You will definitely have to work on someone else's code, which may be neither pretty nor that functional. You will have to write documentation when you'd rather be coding. Just like any job, it's not all fun. That said, there is a lot of fun to be had, and, to those of us who love to program, it's a dream come true.

9) Do you have any suggestions/advice for me regarding this type of work?
Yes. I'll tell you the biggest secret to becoming successful and moving from entry-level to mid-level and beyond. It's not the number of years you've worked or how many lines of code you've written that makes determines your "level." It's the level autonomy you have achieved. In other words, how well can you help yourself? Sure you'll have to ask questions. But what separates a junior dev from a mid-level dev is the quality and frequency of the questions. (Quality meaning how much work was done before just asking for help and whether the question includes a list of avenues that were tried before asking for help).

6) Is there a demand for this type of work in today's market?
- Somewhat, With many of specalized equipment and software being developed it is hard. Employeers are looking for someone with particular knowledge in some areas such as MSCE techs.

7) Could you tell me the pay salary range for this position? ( I understand if this is asking too much. A rough idea would be appreciated, though. )
- I make enough to be a nice life.

8) Is there any extra information you could tell me about this position?
- Its a great industry to work in but you have to know what you are doing.

9) Do you have any suggestions/advice for me regarding this type of work?
- Get certifications which can help you ask for more money from your employer, Find a company that will require you to obtain a security clearance threw them (extra 10K easy).

Re: Informational interview for an employment agency.

Posted 26 September 2008 - 10:34 AM

Nice post about the Software Development.....My only problem is I'm new to this area ( Missouri, US ) and don't know but maybe three people, none of which have even the slightest idea about Software Development......I want more info..
Thanks for your posting.........
===================================================
simmonsJob Openings